Premier League bound Norwich City have joined Newcastle United in making an approach to Celtic for the club’s want away Norwegian defender Kristoffer Ajer.
The Newcastle interest was reported a few weeks ago and now a reporter on Caught Offside and the leading Manchester United site Stretty News has reported on the Norwich interest as United fans debate whether or not Ajer would be a good signing for them.
“Celtic are preparing for Kristoffer Ajer to leave in the summer. There are two English clubs making strong moves to sign him – Norwich City and Newcastle United. Both clubs have recently made formal enquiries,” Smith reports.
Last month the Norway manager told Ajer that he’d have to leave Scottish football if his game was going to develop and with constant links to clubs like AC Milan previously it’s going to be a real reality check for the central defender if he ends up at Norwich.
Norway manager Stale Solbakken said: “Kristoffer has to change the league now, he must. He does not have enough challenges in everyday life.
“Therefore, I think he has got some habits, which you do not notice until he meets better opposition at international level or Europe. So, I think it would be a smart move for him. Kristoffer should go to one of the five major leagues. He will do that.”
The Celtic interim manager John Kennedy though was unhappy at these comments. “I thought it was disrespectful to both the league and the club. We are a massive club in our own right who compete in Europe every season.
“To come out with such a strong statement about what a player must do, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. It’s not his position to say that. If he wanted to have a private conversation with Kris over that, fine. But I certainly don’t think he should be coming out publicly and telling a player what he should or shouldn’t do.
“Especially when you play at a club like Celtic. Anybody who has been at Celtic will have realised the size of it the minute they stepped through the door. The magnitude of it, the fan base and the expectation.
“We have had a huge part in Kris’s career to date and how he has developed into the player he is. There’s no doubt there will be interest in Kris because of his profile, his age and where he is at. But I found the statement and the comments disrespectful towards ourselves,” Kennedy told the media, as reported by Daily Record.
Celtic are preparing for Kristoffer Ajer to leave in the summer.
There are two English clubs making strong moves to sign him – Norwich City and Newcastle United.
Both clubs have recently made formal enquiries.#NUFC pic.twitter.com/FKKJ8VIRMN
— Leah Smith (@LeahSmith_) April 21, 2021
